


Molly’s Nightmares

by GryffindorHealer



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 13:17:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20760995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GryffindorHealer/pseuds/GryffindorHealer
Summary: Wherein Harry learns more about being a dutiful son-in-law-law.





	Molly’s Nightmares

**Tuesday 30 April 2002**

Waving her wand Molly Weasley levitated the fresh laundry from the washer into the basket, then the basket out the scullery door into the back garden. There she nearly dropped it all at the sight of the dark- haired young man approaching the door. ‘Harry! You gave me a start. What are you doing here? Is everything all right?’

Laughing while helping stabilize the basket with his own wand, Harry replied, ‘It’s all good, Molly. I just happened to be in Ottery St. Catchpole and thought I’d stop by.’ He took in the expression on her face, the sense that something felt off puzzling him.

Settling the basket by the clothesline Molly began hanging the wet laundry to dry, her wand making quick work of it. Nevertheless, Harry began matching her wandwork to help hang the sheets and pillowcases.

‘No need to do that, Harry,’ she protested. He simply smiled back at his mother-in-law.

‘Happy to help, besides, two wands make the work go faster. Then we can go for a cuppa, yeah?’ She chuckled back at him, smiling widely. In hardly any time the bedclothes flapped in the warm breeze, and they turned toward the house.

Leaning against the worktop near the table, he watched as she filled the kettle and tapped it to start the water boiling. While she started to assemble the other bits and pieces for a proper cuppa, he noticed the tightness in her shoulders, creases around her eyes that didn't normally seem so deep.

Several months into his time with the Aurors, one of his early mentors, Horace Proudfoot, commented about Harry's ability to judge character and behavior. Harry hadn't replied, but he began to think about it. The ability helped when they interviewed witnesses or suspects, giving him a feel for whether or not they tried to hide things. But he'd never thought about it when interacting with friends or family.

‘I hope it isn’t anything serious that brought you to Ottery St. Catchpole, Harry?’ asked Molly in a bit as she poured the boiling water into the teapot. She levitated the pot and mugs to the kitchen table, a plate of biscuits following her. Milk and sugar followed those and settled between them on the aged stained wood table. She pouring his mug first she pushed it towards him.

‘We got a call about possible Death Eaters In Ottery St. Catchpole, and as I was the only one in the office at the time, Robards sent me over to check on it.’ Molly’s face tightened, worry lines deepening alongside her eyes. She searched her new son-in-laws face for any sign; this close to the anniversary of the Battle... But Harry so rarely spoke about his work...

‘Yes, it was just outside town, toward the Lovegoods place. Needed to be careful, being alone and all. Took me a bit to get a lead.’ He sipped his tea, studying her reaction in his peripheral vision. ‘Then I heard sounds of a struggle, and picked up my pace.’ Molly’s fingers began twisting her tea mug in circles. ‘When I got closer I heard one of them holler “Avada Kedavra”-‘

Molly gasped. ‘No!’

‘So I jumped through the brush and scared the shi- er- life out of a group of 10 year old witches and wizards. They stood there frozen looking at this Auror that suddenly appeared in their midst. Finally I asked them “Just what do you think you're doing,” and a young witch, she told me her name is Harriet later, says bigger than life “Playing Battle of Hogwarts”.

'I asked, ”And which one of you just played like you used the Killing Curse?” The lot of them fidgeted a bit, looking about, and then a lad in the background held up his hand. He wore glasses and,' Harry waved at his forehead, 'he'd even drawn a lightning bolt on his forehead. “What's your name,” I asked. “Joseph,” he said. “You'd be playing Harry Potter?” “Yes,” he says.'

'Oh, Harry, what did you do then?'

'I looked at them all very sternly. “Well, I can tell you for certain the real Harry Potter never, ever used or uses the Killing Curse.” They all fussed a bit more, and then Harriet steps up to me, hands on hips, and says, “And just how do you know that?”

'I stared back at her a few, then reached up and pulled my hair aside to show them my scar. Oh, you should have been there, Molly! They were all gaping big “OH” mouths and eyes and stuttering!'

Molly shook her head, laughing quietly. 'Harry, you never show your scar like that.'

'These were kids, Molly, playing a game. They settled down when I sat on the ground, and gathered round and answered their questions. Mostly they wanted to know what it's like to be an Auror. A few asked why I didn't keep playing Quidditch. Harriet wanted to know did I really marry Ginny Weasley the Harpy Chaser.'

'What did you say to that?'

'I said, “Yes, I did, and she married me. Why, were you hoping to, or are you hoping to play for the Harpies?” And my did she get red in the face.' They both laughed about that, and Harry continued, 'She never did answer me. Eventually I told them to keep on playing but for sure, whoever plays me, better not use the Killing Curse. Or I'd come find them again. That got a look I'll tell you.' They both laughed loudly, then Molly's face sagged slightly. Harry noted (with perceptions sharpened during the years Riddle hunted him and honed by four years as an Auror) she quickly took some tea to hide it. He sipped his own tea, then set the mug down.

'Kingsley asked me to speak at the Memorial on Thursday,' he said quietly. She looked at him, into his green eyes, and nodded slightly. 'I already gave him my written refusal. I just can't, not at some big public thing. It's too much.'  
'But you know they're always going to expect that, Harry.' He nodded. They sat in a thoughtful silence.

'It stirs things up, is all.' He shrugged, and Molly thought how different this felt to her, Harry sharing such feelings. He so rarely did, and Ginny once told her Harry showed her his feelings more than talk about them. Molly suddenly couldn't help wondering if he did so now because of his and Ginny's wedding less than two months ago.

'Harry, you used to have such awful nightmares, sometimes waking the whole house. Then they stopped. What did you do to get over them?' she asked.

He looked at her, surprise in his eyes. 'I didn’t, I just got better at silencing charms.' He sipped his tea, mulling over a thought and trying to pin it down. Nodding to himself, he set down his mug. 'Molly, are you having nightmares?'

She closed her eyes, nodding, and her fingers fidgeting on the sides of her mug grasped tightly between both hands. 'They come and go, come and go. Near the Twins birthday it always seems to be about Fred. Then after that, Bellatrix comes into my dreams. Only I can't stop her from killing. She kills Fred, then George, Ginny, Ron.' She lowered her mug to the table. ‘You.’

Surprising himself, he slid his hand across the worn oak tabletop and covered her hand closest to him. ‘They've gotten less frequent over time, mine have, and a lot less frequent after Ginny and I... got married. It's like, with her next to me, there's less room for them. I expect Arthur should be helpful with that, yeah?' Nodding she grinned and closed her eyes. Silence gathered between them again, a gentle shushing, and her smile broadened as her eyes opened.

'That's actually where his name for me came from, Harry, Mollywobbles. During the First War once, I woke up so shaken my legs felt wobbly. So many people died or disappeared.' He nodded. 'Does Ginny still have nightmares? Hers were horrible after her First Year but she seemed to get over them, and then they came back during her Sixth.'

'We all do, probably, though yeah, but not as often anymore.'

'What do you and Ginny do, for each other? When you wake from nightmares.' He rubbed his fingers through his messy hair, trying to decide how to answer this question. It felt so awkward, even knowing that now there was no reason for Molly to be concerned that the two of them slept in the same bed. Nearly all the time. Except when the Harpies went on the road.

'Mostly, we just hold each other and talk a bit. If it's a really bad one, she seems to know, and... she sings me a lullaby. Says it's one she learned from you.' Molly hummed a tune, and Harry smiled, nodding. 'Yes, that's it. It's surprising how much it relaxes me.'

Molly smiled, her eyes relaxing from their earlier worries. 'I sang that for all of them. Percy would tap my hand in time with the words and melody. If I got off a bit, he would fuss. Even then, things needed to be just so with him.' They both lifted their mugs, and Molly waved her wand at the teapot to refill them both. He lifted the milk and added to both, then a teaspoon of sugar to hers.

'So she sings you that lullaby. How do you comfort my daughter when she wakes from a nightmare, Harry.' His hand flew back to his head and fingers into his already mussed hair. He looked around the kitchen, avoiding Molly's eyes.

'I count her scars,' he muttered quietly, still running his fingers about. He glanced back at Molly, and she raised her eyebrows at him. 'You know,' he said, waving his hand towards his back, 'the ones on her back.' She quirked one eyebrow higher. 'And tell her I'm there, we're there, not in her dream anymore.' She laughed and he groaned and she patted his hand lightly.

'You're a good husband, Harry, and I'm sorry if I embarrassed you.' He shook his head, lifting his mug. 'Before you and Ginny got married did you...'

Harry slowly, deliberately faked taking a sip of his tea then carefully lowered his cup. He felt fairly certain he knew what Molly planned to ask and didn’t want to snort hot fluids or drop the cup. As it clicked against the saucer, though, Molly sighed. He thought he heard her voice faintly, 'No, that wouldn’t be fair to ask.'

She sipped from her mug, her brown eyes thoughtful. _So like Ginny's_ dashed through his mind, _and where did that come from?_. 'Harry, just a wee bit of motherly advice. You’ll understand why, come the day you’ve children of your own.' She tilted her head slightly and the look shifted to mischievous. 'You are planning on children, right?'

Harry blushed lightly. 'We've discussed that, yeah, but we're not ready.' Molly nodded.

'That's fine, just so long as you know I will be asking. That's a Mother's Prerogative. Oh, Ginny will roll her eyes and say “Mum” and such. That's fine too.

'Harry, we love all our children equally, all parents do. Or at least all parents worth the title. But there is still, always, something about each which stands out. And sometimes, they stand out enough that it's hard to keep appearances that everyone is equal.

'Fred and George for me. Those two could drive me just spare with their pranks. They were, George still is, so much like my brothers Fabian and Gideon. And I still to this day miss my brothers, so much, so very much.' She sipped her tea, the mug hiding the quirk to her lips. Yet Harry could see the gleam in her eyes and wondered just what would come next.

'With Arthur and Ginny, well, she’s both. His baby, his little girl. He loves you as much as I do, and we’re so happy you’re married. There’s so much of both of us in her, though, and I well remember how... persuasive... I was with Arthur. I am certain Ginny is just like me in that way. So if, hypothetically, you and Ginny shared lullabies or counting before you got married, don’t let Arthur know. Please.'

Harry felt his face warm, spreading up to his ears. Molly's smile simply grew larger and he knew, somehow, for absolute certain, that all his and Ginny's efforts to spare her parents the knowledge they'd been totally a couple for many years already... all for naught.

'We'll keep it our secret, Harry. You don't even need to tell Ginny.' He looked aghast into eyes that seemed to see as deeply into his mind as Ginny's did. 'Unless, of course, she does something and you just have to take the mickey on her.' Shaking her head, Molly started laughing, and he couldn't resist joining her. The Burrow echoed with their mirth, and as they slowed down, their eyes met and again it grew, until tears streamed down their cheeks. Sides starting to ache a bit, they slowed down, and then Harry covered his face with his hands and they both exploded into one last guffawing round.

Molly wiped her face, and Harry stood. 'I've really got to get back, need to write my report on that call,' he said quietly. Molly stood, waving her wand to the tea things which flew over to the sink and counter. She turned to Harry with a happy smile, and gathered him into her arms for a tight hug.

'Thank you for coming today, Harry.' He hugged her back firmly, then stepped away. 'You've cheered me up immensely, I can't tell you how much that means just now.'

Both of them smiling, he nodded. 'Any time, Molly. Happy to help. I love you.' Letting her go he turned to leave and didn't see the surprise paint her face. She watched him step out the door. Turning to the window over the sink her eyes followed as he walked towards the Apparition point. _That’s the first time you've said that to me Harry_, she thought, and whispered to herself, 'I love you too.'

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own J.K. Rowling’s characters, I do appreciate her graciously allowing us to play in the same sandbox. Thank you to my betas, Meyers plus the whole gang on Discord, and Glisseo for some timely Brit Picking.


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